E-Textiles

E-textiles, also known as Electronic textiles or Smart textiles, are fabrics that have electronics and interconnections woven into them, with physical flexibility and size that cannot be achieved with existing electronic manufacturing techniques. Part of the development of wearable technology, they are known as intelligent clothing or smart clothing because they allow for the incorporation of built-in technological elements in everyday textiles and clothes. Electronic textiles do not strictly encompass wearable computing because emphasis is placed on the seamless integration between the fabric and the electronic elements, such as cables, micro controllers, sensors and actuators.

 One of the pioneers in electronic textiles is Rehmi Post, a Visiting Scientist at the MIT Center for Bits and Atoms, who earned his a M.Sc. at the MIT Media Lab for the development of e-broidery, a means of fabricating electronic circuitry on wash-and-wear textile substrates. Examples of his pioneering work in this field have appeared widely in museum collections, including a long-term loan to the Wellcome Wing of London's Museum of Science.

A typical E-textile fabric

The field of e-textiles can be divided into two main categories:
  • E-textiles with modern electronics directly on the textile fibers. This can include can either passive electronics such as pure wires, conducting textile fibers, or more advanced electronics such as transistors, diodes and solar cells. The field of embedding advanced electronic components onto textile fibers is sometimes called fibertronics.
  • E-textiles with classical electronic devices such as conducting wires, integrated circuits, LEDs, and conventional batteries into garments. This is the common type of e-textile.
Intelligent textile pants
There are a number of research and commercial projects that comprise the use of hybrid structures between both categories. In this case, advanced electronic components that are embedded into the textile fiber are connected to a classical electronic device or component. Some examples are touch buttons that are constructed completely in textile forms by using conducting textile weaves, and then connected to devices such as music players or LEDs that are mounted on woven conducting fiber networks to form displays.
Flexible LED E-Textile ribbon array
Rug Made of E-Textile
 These amazing evening gown was designed and created by Lynne Bruning for Mrs. Mary Atkins. It was presented at the Kansas City Art Museum.
 The dress is actually wearable e-textile made from Angelna fiber, silk organza, 110 UV LED lights and conductive thread.

Source:  Internet & Wikipedia
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